boi, Author at a bit of Italy

June 15, 2024

ITALIAN CONDITIONAL VERB

Generally the conditional suggests, proposes, expresses a desire, a doubt, a gentle request or it expresses an action that could occur “on condition that…”

In Italian sounds like: “Ti amerei… Potrei amarti… Avrei potuto amarti…” (I would love you…, I could love you… I could have loved you…)

MODO CONDIZIONALE Suggest the possibility – possible conditions)
Tempo Presente	Tempo Passato
io amerei (I would love) tu ameresti…	io avrei amato (I would have loved) tu avresti amato…

It has a present (condizionale presente) and a perfect form (condizionale passato).

The formation of the conditional is very similar to the formation of the future.

CONDIZIONALE PRESENTE of REGULAR VERBS

The conditional of regular verbs is formed by replacing the ending of the infinitive with the endings of the conditional.

“Amare, Ridere, Dormire” – Condizionale presente

Pronoun	Amare	Ridere	Dormire
io	am-erei (I would love)	rid-erei (I would laugh)	dorm-irei (I would sleep)
tu	am-eresti	rid-eresti	dorm-iresti
lui	am-erebbe	rid-erebbe	dorm-irebbe
lei	am-erebbe	rid-erebbe	dorm-irebbe
Lei	am-erebbe	rid-erebbe	dorm-irebbe
noi	am-eremmo	rid-eremmo	dorm-iremmo
voi	am-ereste	rid-ereste	dorm-ireste
loro	am-erebbero	rid-erebbero	dorm-irebbero

CONDIZIONALE PRESENTE of IRREGULAR VERBS

Some verbs may be irregular in the conditional but not in the present conjugation (or viceversa.)

To help you memorizing some of them, we created five categories:

“Andare, Avere, Dovere, Potere, Sapere, Vedere” – Condizionale presente

This category presents a contraction: “rei” instead of “erei”… The verb “VIVERE” (“io vivrei” – I would live) belongs to this category

And-are	Av-ere	Dov-ere	Pot-ere	Sap-ere	Ved-ere
and-rei (I would go) and-resti and-rebbe and-remmo and-reste and-rebbero	av-rei (I would have) av-resti av-rebbe av-remmo av-reste av-rebbero	dov-rei (I would have to) dov-resti dov-rebbe dov-remmo dov-reste dov-rebbero	pot-rei (I would be able to) pot-resti pot-rebbe pot-remmo pot-reste pot-rebbero	sap-rei (I would know) sap-resti sap-rebbe sap-remmo sap-reste sap-rebbero	ved-rei (I would see) ved-resti ved-rebbe ved-remmo ved-reste ved-rebbero

“Rimanere, Tenere, Venire, Volere” – Condizionale presente

This category presents a contraction and a changing of “n” or “l” into “r” in the stem, with a characteristic “double R effect”

Riman-ere	Ten-ere	Ven-ire	Vol-ere
rima-r-rei (I would stay) rima-r-resti rima-r-rebbe rima-r-remmo rima-r-reste rima-r-rebbero	te-r-rei (I would keep) te-r-resti te-r-rebbe te-r-remmo te-r-reste te-r-rebbero	ve-r-rei (I would come) ve-r-resti ve-r-rebbe ve-r-remmo ve-r-reste ve-r-rebbero	vo-r-rei (I would want) vo-r-resti vo-r-rebbe vo-r-remmo vo-r-reste vo-r-rebbero

“Dare, Dire, Fare, Stare” – Condizionale presente

This category presents a contraction

Da-re	Di-re	Fa-re	Sta-re
da-rei (I would give) da-resti da-rebbe da-remmo da-reste da-rebbero	di-rei (I would say) di-resti di-rebbe di-remmo di-reste di-rebbero	fa-rei (I would do) fa-resti fa-rebbe fa-remmo fa-reste fa-rebbero	sta-rei (I would stay) sta-resti sta-rebbe sta-remmo sta-reste sta-rebbero

“Cominciare, Mangiare, Viaggiare” – Condizionale presente

The category of verbs whose infinitive end with “ci+are” or “gi+are” (“soft sound” as “CIAO”), drops the final “i” in front of the endings of the conditional (in order to maintain a soft sound effect as “MarCEllo”)

Comin-ci-are	Man-gi-are	Viag-gi-are
cominc-erei (I would begin) cominc-eresti cominc-erebbe cominc-eremmo cominc-ereste cominc-erebbero	mang-erei(I would eat) mang-eresti mang-erebbe mang-eremmo mang-ereste mang-erebbero	viagg-erei (I would travel) viagg-eresti viagg-erebbe viagg-eremmo viagg-ereste viagg-erebbero

“Dimenticare, Pagare” – Condizionale presente

The category of verbs whose infinitive end with “c+are” or “g+are” (“hard sound” as Karl, Carlo), adds an “h” in front of the endings of the conditional (to maintain the hard sound effect)

Dimenti-c-are	Pa-g-are
dimenti-ch-erei (I would forget) dimentich-eresti dimentich-erebbe dimentich-eremmo dimentich-ereste dimentich-erebbero	pagh-erei (I would pay) pagh-eresti pagh-erebbe pagh-eremmo pagh-ereste pagh-erebbero

“Essere” – Condizionale presente

This verb changes stem in the conditional

Ess-ere

sa-rei
(I would be)
sa-resti
sa-rebbe
sa-remmo
sa-reste
sa-rebbero

June 15, 2024

ITALIAN PAST TENCE

The “passato prossimo” (past tense) in Italian is used to express an action that began and was completed in a recent past (yesterday, last week, last summer…): “ieri ho mangiato la mela” (yesterday I ate the apple, I did eat the apple, I have eaten the apple…) In many Italian regions it is used as the main form of past “l’anno scorso ho viaggiato molto” (literally: last year I have traveled a lot.)

The “passato prossimo” is a “compound tense” because it is formed with one of the auxiliary verbs (“essere” or “avere”) plus the past participle of a verb. Whether it requires “essere” or “avere”, depends on the verb. If the verb is a transitive verb, it requires the auxiliary “avere.” If the verb is intransitive (like most verbs that express movement or state of being) or if the verb is reflexive, it requires the auxiliary “essere.”

Passato prossimo of transitive verbs

Transitive verbs may be followed by an object to complete their meaning: “leggo la lettera” (I read the letter) I read what? I read the letter. The “passato prossimo” of transitive verbs is formed with “AVERE” (present indicative) + the past participle of the verb.

“Mangiare, Leggere, Aprire” – Passato prossimo

Pronoun	Mangiare	Leggere	Aprire
io	ho mangiato (I ate, I have eaten, I did eat)	ho letto (I read, I have read, I did read)	ho aperto (I opened, I have opened, I did open)
tu	hai mangiato	hai letto	hai aperto
lui	ha mangiato	ha letto	ha aperto
lei	ha mangiato	ha letto	ha aperto
Lei	ha mangiato	ha letto	ha aperto
noi	abbiamo mangiato	abbiamo letto	abbiamo aperto
voi	avete mangiato	avete letto	avete aperto
loro	hanno mangiato	hanno letto	hanno aperto

Passato prossimo of INtransitive verbs

Intransitive verbs don’t need an object to complete their meaning. The “passato prossimo” of most intransitive verbs is formed with “ESSERE” (present indicative) + the past participle of the verb (if you are not sure whether a verb requires “essere” or “avere” check the dictionary.) With “essere”, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject of the verb.

“Andare, Nascere, Venire” – Passato Prossimo

Pronoun	Andare	Nascere	Venire
io	sono andato/a (I went, I have gone, I did go)	sono nato/a (I was born)	sono venuto/a (I came, I have come, I did come)
tu	sei andato/a	sei nato/a	sei venuto/a
lui	è andato	è nato	è venuto
lei	è andata	è nata	è venuta
Lei	è andato/a	è nato/a	è venuto/a
noi	siamo andati/e	siamo nati/e	siamo venuti/e
voi	siete andati/e	siete nati/e	siete venuti/e
loro	sono andati/e	sono nati/e	sono venuti/e

Essere	Avere
io sono stato/a (I was) tu sei stato/a…	io ho avuto (I had, I did have) tu hai avuto…

REMEMBER

“dormire”(to sleep), “rispondere” (to answer), “viaggiare” (to travel), “vivere” (to live) though intransitive require the auxiliary “avere” (“ho dormito, ho risposto, ho viaggiato, ho vissuto…”)
verbs that express movement, like “venire” (to come), “andare” (to go), “uscire” (to go out)… require the auxiliary “essere”
verbs that express state of being, like “essere” (to be), “stare” (to stay), “rimanere” (to remain), “nascere” (to be born)… require the auxiliary “essere”
reflexive verbs require the verb “essere”
the verb “piacere” requires the auxiliary “essere”
for the position of the pronouns with compound tenses, please refer to the pronouns section

June 15, 2024

PARTICIPLE IN ITALIAN “PARTICIPIO”

MODO PARTICIPIO
Tempo Presente	Tempo Passato
amante (lover)	amato (loved)

The participle in Italian has a present (participio presente) and a past form (participio passato).

The present form can be replaced by a relative pronoun and the according verb: “il bambino ridente”, “il bambino che ride” (the child who laughs).

The past form may be used “almost as an adjective” or, in combination with “essere” or “avere” to create other forms of past like the “passato prossimo, passato remoto”, etc… (recent past, remote past…): “Il bicchiere rotto” (the broken glass); “ho rotto il bicchiere” (I have broken the glass).

When the participle is “used as an adjective” it must agree in gender and number with the noun to whom it refers: “il bicchiere rotto, i bicchieri rotti” (the broken glass, the broken glasses).

PARTICIPIO PRESENTE

The present participle of verbs ending with “are”, “ere”, “ire” is formed by adding “ante”, “ente”, “ente” to the stems of the infinitive.

1st Conjugation	2nd Conjugation	3rd Conjugation
Infinito in ARE: cant-are (to sing)	Participio presente: cant-ante (singer, singing)	Infinito in ERE: piang-ere (to cry)	Participio presente: piang-ente (crying)	Infinito in IRE: divertire (to amuse)	Participio presente: divert-ente (amusing)

PARTICIPIO PASSATO

Participio passato of regular verbs

The past participle of verbs ending with “are”, “ere”, “ire” is formed by adding “ato”, “ito”, “uto” to the stems of the infinitive.

1st Conjugation	2nd Conjugation	3rd Conjugation
Infinito in ARE: ball-are (to dance)	Participio passato: ball-ato (danced)	Infinito in ERE: vol-ere (to want)	Participio passato: vol-uto (wanted)	Infinito in IRE: dorm-ire (to sleep)	Participio passato: dorm-ito (slept)

PARTICIPIO PASSATO OF IRREGULAR VERBS

Several verbs have an irregular past participle:

1th Conjugation	2nd Conjugation	3rd Conjugation
dare -> dato (given)	bere -> bevuto (drunk)	aprire ->aperto (opened)
fare -> fatto (done, made)	cadere -> caduto (fell)	dire -> detto (said, told)
stare -> stato (been)	chiedere -> chiesto (asked)	morire -> morto (dead)
	chiudere -> chiuso (closed)	offrire -> offerto (offered)
	decidere -> deciso (decided)	salire -> salito (climbed, went up)
	dipingere -> dipinto (painted)	venire -> venuto (come)
	essere -> stato (been)
	leggere -> letto (read)
	mettere -> messo (put, placed)
	nascere -> nato (born)
	perdere -> perso (lost)
	prendere -> preso (taken)
	rimanere -> rimasto (remained)
	rispondere -> risposto (answered)
	scegliere -> scelto (chosen)
	scrivere -> scritto (written)
	spendere -> speso (spent)
	vedere -> visto/veduto (seen)

Essere -> stato (been)

Avere -> avuto (had)

June 15, 2024June 15, 2024

ITALIAN FUTURE VERB

The “futuro semplice” expresses an action that will occur in the future. In Italian the future tense is often replaced by the present tense. The future is also used to express supposition, probability, and approximation. “Ti amerò sempre, ci vediamo domani, dove saranno gli occhiali?” (I will love you forever, we’ll see each other tomorrow, where might the glasses be?)

The future has a simple form (futuro semplice) and a perfect form (futuro anteriore).

The “futuro anteriore” tells you what will have happened, before another event at a certain time.

FUTURO SEMPLICE of REGULAR VERBS

The future of regular verbs is formed by replacing the ending of the infinitive with the endings of the future.

“Amare, Ridere, Dormire” – Futuro

Pronoun	Amare	Ridere	Dormire
io	am-erò (I will love)	rid-erò (I will laugh)	dorm-irò (I will sleep)
tu	am-erai	rid-erai	dorm-irai
lui	am-erà	rid-erà	dorm-irà
lei	am-erà	rid-erà	dorm-irà
Lei	am-erà	rid-erà	dorm-irà
noi	am-eremo	rid-eremo	dorm-iremo
voi	am-erete	rid-erete	dorm-irete
loro	am-eranno	rid-eranno	dorm-iranno

FUTURO SEMPLICE of IRREGULAR VERBS

Some verbs may be irregular in the future but not in the present conjugation (or viceversa.)

In order to help you memorize some of them, we created five categories:

“Andare, Avere, Dovere, Potere, Sapere, Vedere” – Futuro

This category presents a contraction (e.g. “rò” instead of “erò”, etc…)

And-are	Av-ere	Dov-ere	Pot-ere	Sap-ere	Ved-ere
and-rò (I will go) and-rai and-rà and-remo and-rete and-ranno	av-rò (I will have) av-rai av-rà av-remo av-rete av-ranno	dov-rò (I’ll have to) dov-rai dov-rà dov-remo dov-rete dov-ranno	pot-rò (I’ll be able to) pot-rai pot-rà pot-remo pot-rete pot-ranno	sap-rò (I will know) sap-rai sap-rà sap-remo sap-rete sap-ranno	ved-rò (I will see) ved-rai ved-rà ved-remo ved-rete ved-ranno

“Rimanere, Tenere, Venire, Volere” – Futuro

This category presents a contraction and a changing of “n” or “l” into “r” in the stem, with a characteristic “double R effect”

Riman-ere	Ten-ere	Ven-ire	Vol-ere
rima-r-rò (I will remain) rima-r-rai rima-r-rà rima-r-remo rima-r-rete rima-r-ranno	te-r-rò (I will keep) te-r-rai te-r-rà te-r-remo te-r-rete te-r-ranno	ve-r-rò (I will come) ve-r-rai ve-r-rà ve-r-remo ve-r-rete ve-r-ranno	vo-r-rò (I will want) vo-r-rai vo-r-rà vo-r-remo vo-r-rete vo-r-ranno

“Dare, Dire, Fare, Stare” – Futuro

This category presents a contraction

Da-re	Di-re	Fa-re	Sta-re
da-rò (I will give) da-rai da-rà da-remo da-rete da-ranno	di-rò (I will say) di-rai di-rà di-remo di-rete di-ranno	fa-rò (I will make) fa-rai fa-rà fa-remo fa-rete fa-ranno	sta-rò (I will stay) sta-rai sta-rà sta-remo sta-rete sta-ranno

“Cominciare, Mangiare, Viaggiare” – Futuro

The category of verbs whose infinitive end with “ci+are” or “gi+are” (“soft sound” as “CIAO”), drops the final “i” in front of the endings of the future (in order to maintain a soft sound effect as “MarCEllo”)

Comin-ci-are	Man-gi-are	Viag-gi-are
cominc-erò (I will begin) cominc-erai cominc-erà cominc-eremo cominc-erete cominc-eranno	mang-erò (I will eat) mang-erai mang-erà mang-eremo mang-erete mang-eranno	viagg-erò (I will travel) viagg-erai viagg-erà viagg-eremo viagg-erete viagg-eranno

“Dimenticare, Pagare” – Futuro

The category of verbs whose infinitive end with “c+are” or “g+are” (“hard sound” as Karl, Carlo), adds an “h” in front of the endings of the future (to maintain the hard sound effect)

Dimenti-c-are	Pa-g-are
dimenti-ch-erò (I will forget) dimentich-erai dimentich-erà dimentich-eremo dimentich-erete dimentich-eranno	pagh-erò (I will pay) pagh-erai pagh-erà pagh-eremo pagh-erete pagh-eranno

“Essere” – Futuro TO BE FUTURE

This verb changes stem in the future

Ess-ere

sa-rò
(I will be)
sa-rai
sa-rà
sa-remo
sa-rete
sa-ranno

“Avere” – Futuro TO HAVE FUTURE

This verb changes stem in the future

Av-ere

avrò
(I will have)
av-rai
av-rà
av-remo
av-rete
savranno

FUTURO ANTERIORE

The “futuro anteriore” tells you what will have happened, before another event at a certain time.

“Dopo che avrò lavorato, potrò riposare” (after I will have worked, I’ll rest).

The “futuro anteriore” is a “compound tense” (like the “passato prossimo”) because it is formed with one of the auxiliary verbs (“essere” or “avere”) plus the past participle of a verb. Whether it requires “essere” or “avere”, depends on the verb. If the verb is a transitive verb, it requires the auxiliary “avere”. If the verb is intransitive (like most verbs that express movement or state of being) or if the verb is reflexive, it requires the auxiliary “essere”.

FUTURO ANTERIORE of TRANSITIVE VERBS

Transitive verbs may be followed by an object to complete their meaning “leggo la lettera” (I read the letter) I read what? I read the letter.

The “futuro anteriore” of transitive verbs is formed with the “futuro” of “AVERE” + the past participle of the verb.

“Mangiare, Leggere, Aprire” – Futuro anteriore

Pronoun	Mangiare	Leggere	Aprire
io	avrò mangiato (I will have eaten)	avrò letto (I will have read)	avrò aperto (I will have opened)
tu	avrai mangiato	avrai letto	avrai aperto
lui	avrà mangiato	avrà letto	avrà aperto
lei	avrà mangiato	avrà letto	avrà aperto
Lei	avrà mangiato	avrà letto	avrà aperto
noi	avremo mangiato	avremo letto	avremo aperto
voi	avrete mangiato	avrete letto	avrete aperto
loro	avranno mangiato	avranno letto	avranno aperto

FUTURO ANTERIORE of INTRANSITIVE VERBS

Intransitive verbs don’t need an object to complete their meaning.

The “futuro anteriore” of most intransitive verbs is formed with the “futuro” of “ESSERE” + the past participle of the verb (if you are not sure whether a verb requires “essere” or “avere” check the dictionary.) With “essere”, the past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject of the verb.

“Andare, Nascere, Venire” – Futuro anteriore

Pronoun	Andare	Nascere	Venire
io	sarò andato/a (I will have gone)	sarò nato/a (I will have born)	sarò venuto/a (I will have come)
tu	sarai andato/a	sarai nato/a	sarai venuto/a
lui	sarà andato	sarà nato	sarà venuto
lei	sarà andata	sarà nata	sarà venuta
Lei	sarà andato/a	sarà nato/a	sarà venuto/a
noi	saremo andati/e	saremo nati/e	saremo venuti/e
voi	sarete andati/e	sarete nati/e	sarete venuti/e
loro	saranno andati/e	saranno nati/e	saranno venuti/e

Essere	Avere
io sarò stato/a (I will have been) tu sarai stato/a…	io avrò avuto (I will have had) tu avrai avuto…

REMEMBER

“dormire”(to sleep), “rispondere” (to answer), “viaggiare” (to travel), “vivere” (to live) though intransitive require the auxiliary “avere” (“ho dormito, ho risposto, ho viaggiato, ho vissuto…”)
verbs that express movement, like “venire” (to come), “andare” (to go), “uscire” (to go out)… require the auxiliary “essere”
verbs that express state of being, like “essere” (to be), “stare” (to stay), “rimanere” (to remain), “nascere” (to be born)… require the auxiliary “essere”
reflexive verbs require the verb “essere”
the verb “piacere” requires the auxiliary “essere”
for the position of the pronouns with compound tenses, please refer to the pronouns section

June 15, 2024June 15, 2024

ITALIAN PRESENT OF REGULAR-IRREGULAR VERBS

Italian verbs are divided into three classes:

first class: verbs ending with “are” (e.g.: “ballare” = to dance)
second class: verbs ending with “ere” (e.g.: “ridere” = to laugh)
third class: verbs ending with “ire” (e.g.: “dormire” = to sleep)

Each class has different verb endings that NEED TO BE MEMORIZED ! See sample in the following chart of regular verbs.

PRESENT of REGULAR VERBS

The present indicative of regular verbs is formed by replacing the endings of the infinitive with the endings of the present indicative:

“Ballare, Ridere, Dormire” – Presente indicativo

	FIRST CLASS	SECOND CLASS	THIRD CLASS
Pronoun	Ball-are (to dance)	Rid-ere (to laugh)	Dorm-ire (to sleep)
io (I)	ball-o (I dance)	rid-o (I laugh)	dorm-o (I sleep)
tu (you – singular)	ball-i	rid-i	dorm-i
lui (he)	ball-a	rid-e	dorm-e
lei (she)	ball-a	rid-e	dorm-e
Lei (You – formal)	ball-a	rid-e	dorm-e
noi (we)	ball-iamo	rid-iamo	dorm-iamo
voi (you – plural)	ball-ate	rid-ete	dorm-ite
loro (they)	ball-ano	rid-ono	dorm-ono

PRESENT of IRREGULAR VERBS

The Italian language has many irregular verbs. Following are charts of the most important irregular verbs:

“Preferire, Capire, Finire” – Presente indicativo

Pronoun	Prefer-ire (to prefer)	Cap-ire (to understand)	Fin-ire (to end)
io	preferisc-o (I prefer)	capisc-o (I understand)	finisc-o (I finish, end)
tu	preferisc-i	capisc-i	finisc-i
lui	preferisc-e	capisc-e	finisc-e
lei	preferisc-e	capisc-e	finisc-e
Lei	preferisc-e	capisc-e	finisc-e
noi	prefer-iamo	cap-iamo	fin-iamo
voi	prefer-ite	cap-ite	fin-ite
loro	preferisc-ono	capisc-ono	finisc-ono

“Bere, Mangiare” – Presente indicativo

Pronoun	Be-re (from the Latin “bevere” = to drink)	Mangi-are (to eat)
io	bev-o (I drink)	mangi-o (I eat)
tu	bev-i	mang-i
lui	bev-e	mangi-a
lei	bev-e	mangi-a
Lei	bev-e	mangi-a
noi	bev-iamo	mang-iamo
voi	bev-ete	mangi-ate
loro	bev-ono	mangi-ano

“Dovere, Volere, Potere” – Presente indicativo

These verbs are called “verbi servili”, ( verb that ‘serve’ – modal verbs); they can be used alone, “voglio una torta” (I want a cake) or, as modal verbs, they are used with another verb in the infinitive tense “voglio viaggiare” (I want to travel). The verb “sapere” is also a modal verb.

Pronoun	Dov-ere (to have to, must)	Vol-ere (to want)	Pot-ere (to be able to, can, may)
io	dev-o (I must)	vogli-o (I want)	poss-o (I can)
tu	dev-i	vuo-i	puo-i
lui	dev-e	vuol-e	pu-ò
lei	dev-e	vuol-e	pu-ò
Lei	dev-e	vuol-e	pu-ò
noi	dobb-iamo	vogl-iamo	poss-iamo
voi	dov-ete	vol-ete	pot-ete
loro	dev-ono	vogli-ono	poss-ono

“Venire, Uscire” – Presente indicativo

Pronoun	Ven-ire (to come)	Usc-ire (to go out)
io	veng-o (I come)	esc-o (I go out)
tu	vien-i	esc-i
lui	vien-e	esc-e
lei	vien-e	esc-e
Lei	vien-e	esc-e
noi	ven-iamo	usc-iamo
voi	ven-ite	usc-ite
loro	veng-ono	esc-ono

“Fare, Andare” – Presente indicativo

Pronoun	F-are (from the Latin “facere” = to do, to make)	And-are (to go)
io	facci-o (I do)	vad-o (I go)
tu	f-ai	v-ai
lui	f-a	v-a
lei	f-a	v-a
Lei	f-a	v-a
noi	facc-iamo	and-iamo
voi	f-ate	and-ate
loro	f-anno	v-anno

“Stare, Dire, Dare” – Presente indicativo

Pronoun	St-are (to stay, to remain, to be)	D-ire (to say, to tell)	D-are (to give)
io	st-o (I stay)	dic-o (I say)	d-o (I give)
tu	sta-i	dic-i	d-ai
lui	st-a	dic-e	d-à
lei	st-a	dic-e	d-à
Lei	st-a	dic-e	d-à
noi	st-iamo	dic-iamo	d-iamo
voi	st-ate	di-te	d-ate
loro	st-anno	dic-ono	d-anno

“Conoscere, Sapere” – Presente indicativo

Pronoun	Conosc-ere (to know)	Sap-ere (to know)
io	conosc-o (I know)	s-o (I know)
tu	conosc-i	s-ai
lui	conosc-e	s-a
lei	conosc-e	s-a
Lei	conosc-e	s-a
noi	conosc-iamo	sapp-iamo
voi	conosc-ete	sap-ete
loro	conosc-ono	s-anno

“Pagare, Dimenticare” – Presente indicativo

The verbs whose infinitive ends with “g+ are” or “c+ are”, add an “h” before the endings “i” and “iamo”

Pronoun	Pa-g-are (to pay)	Dimenti-c-are (to forget)
io	pag-o (I pay)	dimentic-o (I forget)
tu	pagh-i	dimentich-i
lui	pag-a	dimentic-a
lei	pag-a	dimentic-a
Lei	pag-a	dimentic-a
noi	pagh-iamo	dimentich-iamo
voi	pag-ate	dimentic-ate
loro	pag-ano	dimentic-ano

June 15, 2024

SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION OF ‘TO LIKE’ (PIACERE) IN ITALIAN

SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION OF PIACERE (TO LIKE)

The verb “Piacere” in Italian has a special construction where the subject of the sentence becomes the person or object doing the action of pleasing. We use the indirect object pronouns to identify whom the person/object is pleasing. It is harder explaining than showing some examples!

Mi piace il formaggio! (Il formaggio piace a me! = literally: the cheese pleases to me – I like cheese).
“Il formaggio” does the action of pleasing me and becomes the subject of the sentence.

Mi piacciono gli spaghetti! (Gli spaghetti piacciono a me! = literally: spaghetti please to me – I like spaghetti)
“Gli spaghetti” do the action of pleasing me and become the subject of the sentence.

Viaggiare mi piace! (Viaggiare piace a me! = literally: to travel pleases to me – I like traveling)
The act of travelling, “viaggiare”, does the action of pleasing me and becomes the subject of the sentence.

Tu le piaci. (Tu piaci a lei). = She likes you.

Lei ti piace. (Lei piace a te). = You like her.

Ti piaccio? (Io piaccio a te?) = Do you like me?

A Mario piace mangiare. (Gli piace mangiare). = Mario likes eating.

Ai miei cugini piace dormire. (Gli piace dormire). = My cousins like sleeping.

A loro piacciono le città italiane. (Gli piacciono le città italiane). =They like Italian cities.

Al professore piacciono i libri antichi. (Gli piacciono i libri antichi). = The teacher likes ancient books.

IndirectPronoun	Verb Piacere	To like
mi (a me)*	piace	I like
ti (a te)	piace	you like
gli (a lui)	piace	he likes
le (a lei)	piace	she likes
Le (a Lei)	piace	you like (formal)
ci (a noi)	piace	we like
vi (a voi)	piace	you like
gli (a loro)	piace	they like

*Either you use the indirect pronoun or the strong pronoun (e.g. either “mi” or “a me”: mi piace la pizza = I like pizza. A me piace la pizza = I like pizza).

IMPORTANT. Please note, with the verb “piacere” we use the auxiliary “essere” to form combined tenses: mi è piaciuto = I have liked it.

Tu le sei piaciuto. (Tu sei piaciuto a lei). = She has liked you.

Lei ti è piaciuta. (Lei è piaciuta a te). = You have liked her.

Ti sono piaciuto? (Io sono piaciuto a te?) = Have you liked me?

A Mario è piaciuto mangiare. (Gli è piaciuto mangiare). = Mario has liked eating.

Ai miei cugini è piaciuto dormire. (Gli è piaciuto dormire). = My cousins have liked sleeping.

A loro sono piaciute le città italiane. (Gli sono piaciute le città italiane). =They have liked Italian cities.

Al professore sono piaciuti i libri antichi. (Gli sono piaciuti i libri antichi). = The teacher has liked ancient books.

“Piacere” can be used also only in the sense of pleasing to someone.

Io piaccio = I please, I am liked, people like me.
Io piaccio a te = I please you, you like me (I do the action of being liked by you).

As verbs are conjugated according to the subject of the sentence, when you use the verb ‘piacere’ you have to identify immediately the subject of your sentence (who/what is doing the action of pleasing) and conjugate the verb accordingly:

Pronouns	Verb Piacere (Presente indicativo)	To please
io	piaccio	I please
tu	piaci	you please
lui	piace	he pleases
lei	piace	she pleases
Lei	piace	you please (formal)
noi	piacciamo (o piaciamo)	we please
voi	piacete	you please
loro	piacciono (o piaciono)	they please

Ti piace questa spiegazione? (Do you like this explanation?)

Ti è piaciuta questa spiegazione? (Have you liked this explanation?)

June 15, 2024June 15, 2024

ARTICLES

Remember that in Italian, every NOUN is either masculine or feminine so the definite article, “the” in English, is either masculine singular, masculine plural, feminine singular or feminine plural.

a. MASCULINE

IL : for masculine singular nouns which start with a consonant.

Il libro / the book
Il vino / the wine
Il tavolo / the table

L’ : for masculine singular nouns which start with a vowel.

L’ orologio / the watch
L’aereo / the plane
L’albero / the tree

LO : for masculine singular nouns which start with:

s + consonant	lo studente, lo spagnolo, lo scontrino / the student, the Spanish guy, the receipt
z	lo zaino, lo zio / the backpack, the uncle
y	lo yogurt, lo yen / the yoghurt, the yen
ps	lo psicologo / the psychologist
pn	lo pneumatico / the tyre
gn	lo gnomo / the gnome

I : for masculine plural nouns which start with a consonant.

I libri / the books
I vini / the wines
I tavoli / the tables

GLI : for masculine plural nouns which start with a vowel, s + consonant, z, y, ps, pn, x or gn.

Gli orologi / the watches
Gli aerei / the planes
Gli alberi / the trees
Gli studenti / the students
Gli zaini / the backpacks
Gli yogurt / the yoghurts
Gli psicologi / the psychologists
Gli pneumatici / the tyres
Gli gnomi / the gnomes

b. FEMININE

LA : for feminine singular nouns which start with a consonant.

La penna / the pen
La camicia / the shirt
La sedia / the chair

L’ : for feminine singular singular nouns which start with a vowel.

L’ ape / the bee
L’insalata / the salad
L’ora / the hour

LE : for feminine plural nouns which start with a vowel or a consonant.

Le penne / the pens
Le camicie / the shirts
Le sedie / the chairs
Le api / the bees
Le insalate / the salads
Le ore / the hours

INDEFINITE ARTICLES

a. MASCULINE INDEFINITE ARTICLES

UN: this indefinite article is used when the noun is masculine singular and begins with a consonant or a vowel. Note that we don’t use un’,

Un quaderno / a notebook
Un libro / a book
Un piatto / a dish
Un uomo / a man
Un albero / a tree
Un aereo / a plane

UNO : when the noun is masculine singular and begins with s + consonant, ps, pn, z, x, y or gn.

Uno stato / a state
Uno psicologo / a psychologist
Uno pneumatico / a tyre
Uno zoccolo / a hoof
Uno xilofono / a xylophone
Uno yacht / a yacht
Uno gnomo / a gnome

b. FEMMININE INDEFINITE ARTICLES

UNA : this indefinite article is used when the noun is feminine singular and begins with a consonant.

una macchina / a car
una penna / a pen
una sedia / a chair

UN’ : this indefinite article is used when the noun is feminine singular and begins with a vowel.

un’ infermiera / a nurse
un’ insalata / a salad
un’ora / an hour

In the plural form, both masculine and feminine nouns use the indefinite adjectives Alcuni/e, Certi/e.

E.g.: Alcuni uomini, Certe cose.

WHEN TO USE ARTICLES

When Italians use articles	When Italians DON’T use articles
Before nouns: il gatto, la donna, l’uomo, il libro, la casa…	When they want to convey a very generic feeling of something indefinite: mangio pasta, vedo amici, faccio cose, leggo libri…
Before a person’s profession: il dottore, il meccanico, il professore, la professoressa…	*Before a name:** Roberto, Maria, Stefano, Alice, Roma, Milano… *In some Italian regiones they use articles even in front of person’s names (il Roberto, la Maria, etc…)
Before a title: il signore, la signora, l’onorevole… Il signore è italiano? La signora Verdi è italiana.	Before the demonstrative adjective (questo, quello):questa casa, questo libro, quel ragazzo, quegli amici…
Before a possesive adjective: la mia casa, il mio libro, la mia macchina, il mio amico…	Before a possessive adjective followed by a singular family noun: mia madre, mio padre, mio fratello, mia sorella
Before dates:il 2 giugno 1990
Before hours:sono le 3, è l’una	Before mezzogiorno and mezzanotte:è mezzogiorno…
Before names of nations or associations in the plural:gli Stati Uniti, le Nazioni Unite…
Before the days of the week to indicate a repeated, habitual activity: la domenica studio italiano.	With days of the week: domenica vado in montagna.

PARTITIVE ARTICLES

Partitive articles introduce a part of a whole or an indefinite quantity. They are composed by the simple preposition “di” plus the definite article:

Articles:	il	lo	l’	la	i	gli	le
Di +	del	dello	dell’	della	dei	degli	delle

Vorrei del pane (I would like some bread)
Vuoi del caffé? (Would you like some coffe?)
Ho comprato della frutta (I have bought some fruit)

Usually, in the singular form, the partitive article can be replaced by “un po’ di”:

Vorrei del pane = Vorrei un po’ di pane (I would like some bread)
Vuoi del caffé? = Vuoi un po’ di caffé? (Would you like a little bit of coffe?)
Ho comprato della frutta = Ho comprato un po’ di frutta (I have bought some fruit)

“Un po’ di” is mostly used in informal situations.

Usually, in the plural form, the partitive article can be replaced by “alcuni/alcune”:

Degli studenti ti cercano = Alcuni studenti ti cercano (Some students are looking for you)
Ho dei libri interessanti = Ho alcuni libri interessanti (I have some interesting books)
Ci sono delle persone simpatiche alla festa = Ci sono alcune persone simpatiche alla festa (There are some nice people at the party).

“Alcuni/alcune” is mostly used in formal situations.

Please note: alcuni/alcune in negative sentences are used in the singular form with the meaning of “nessuno/nessuna”: non ho ricevuto alcuna notizia – non ho ricevuto nessuna notizia (I have not received any news).

“Qualche” is invariable and is used with singular nouns:

“Ho qualche libro.” (I have some books, a few books).

June 15, 2024

ADVERBS

Adverbs modify or specify the meaning of a verb, adjective or another adverb. They are invariable.

Most adverbs derive by the corresponding adjective and they are formed by adding “mente” to the ending of the feminine singular form of the adjective (onesta + mente = onestamente; forte + mente = fortemente…). Adjectives ending in “re” or “le” drop their “e” before adding “mente” (regolare + mente= regolarmente; gentile + mente = gentilmente). Other adverbs do not end with “mente” and the most common are: “bene” (well), “male” (badly), “ora” (now), “ieri” (yesterday), “oggi” (today), “poco” (little), “molto” (much), “prima” (before), “dopo” (after), “non” (not) … There are several categories of adverbs. Following, are the most important:

There are several categories of adverbs. Following, are the most important:

Adverbs of manner – they indicate how a verb, adjective or another adverb is modified by an adverb: “lei cammina lentamente” (she walks slowly); the adverb “lentamente” indicates how the lady walks. Most of the adverbs ending in “-mente” belong to this cathegory. (Bene, male, lento, lentamente, quasi, volentieri etc.)

adverbs of time – they indicate when or how many times an action is performed: “oggi sono stanco” (today I’m tired); the adverb “oggi” indicates when the person is tired. (Ora, prima, dopo, ieri, oggi, domani, mai, sempre, presto, spesso, etc.)

Adverbs of place – they indicate where an action is performed or where an object or subject is: “vado fuori” (I’m going out); the adverb “fuori” indicates where the subject is going. (Là, lì, qui, qua, sopra, sotto, dentro, fuori, davanti, dietro etc.)

Questions adverbs (and exclamation) – they usually introduce a question: “perché non scrivi una lettera?” (why don’t you write a letter?); the adverb “perché” introduces the question. (Come, quando, dove, perché, quanto, etc.)

Adverbs of quantities – they indicate quantity: “sono molto stanco” (I’m very tired); the adverb “molto” indicates how tired the person is. (Poco, molto, tanto, troppo, parecchio, piuttosto, quanto, abbastanza, etc.)

POSITION of the adverb in the sentence:

The position of the adverb in the sentence changes depending on the noun, verb, adjective or other adverb to whom the adverb is referring.

1.If the adverb is referring to the verb, it follows the verb.

Example: “Io guardo molto la televisione” (I watch TV a lot)

2. If there is an object, the adverb is placed after the verb or at the end of the sentence.

Example: “Io guardo sempre la televisione”.

“Io guardo la televisione sempre“.

(I always watch television. I watch television always.)

3. If an adverb refers to a noun or an adjective, it is placed in front of it.

Example: “Guardo principalmente film d’azione”.

“Sono, anche se non sembra, piuttosto stanco”. (I watch mainly action movies. I am, even though it doesn’t seem so, rather tired.)

4. Interrogative adverbs generally introduce a question and they are positioned at the beginning of the sentence.

Example: “Dove abiti? “(Where do you live?)

5. The pronoun and preposition usually precede the interrogative adverb.

Example: “Tu dove abiti? Da dove sei partito?” (Where do you live? From where did you leave?)

Comparative form of the adverbs:

Remember, the comparative form of the adverbs follows the rules of the adjectives: “il treno va più lentamente dell’aereo” (trains go more slowly than airplains.)

The superlative is always formed with “molto” + the adverb: “l’aereo viaggia molto velocemente” (the airplain travels very fast.) The adverbs “bene”, “male”, “poco”, “molto” have the following irregular comparative:

Avverbio		Comparativo		Superlativo
bene	well	meglio	better	benissimo molto bene	very well
male	badly	peggio	worse	malissimo molto male	very badly
poco	little	di meno, meno	less	pochissimo	very little
molto	much	di più, più	more	moltissimo	very much

NOTE

The difference between an adjective, a pronoun or an adverb is that:

1. the adjective goes with the noun and agrees with it; “molti studenti vanno al cinema” (many students go to the movies)
2. the pronoun substitutes the noun; “molti vanno al cinema” (many go to the movies)
3. the adverb goes with the verb, adjective or another adverb and it is invariable; “gli studenti vanno molto al cinema” (students go a lot to the movies)

June 15, 2024June 15, 2024

ITALIAN NOUNS

The italian nouns can be feminine and masculine. Nouns are words that name and designate people, things, places.

FEMININE AND MASCULINE NOUNS

Nouns ending with “O” AND “A”

Italian nouns can be masculine and feminine, singular and plural. For example, the noun “gatto” (cat) has 4 forms:

The plural form of nouns ending with “o” ends with “i”
The plural form of nouns ending with “a” ends with “e”

Nouns ending with “O” OR”A”

Some nouns have only the masculine OR the feminine form (singular and plural). For example, the noun “libro” (book) is masculine:

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	librO
Plural	librI

The noun “sedia” (chair) is feminine:

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular		sediA
Plural		sediE

Nouns ending with “E”

Some Italian nouns end with “e”. They can be masculine OR feminine. The only way to know their gender is by consulting a dictionary or deducting it from the article in front of the noun.

For example, the noun “fiore” (flower) is masculine. The noun “televisione” (television) is feminine. The plural form of ALL nouns (feminine or masculine) ending with “E” ends with “I”.

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	fiorE	televisionE
Plural	fiorI	televisionI

SINGULAR AND PLURAL

Italian nouns and adjectives can be masculine and feminine, singular and plural.

They change the ending vowel according to their gender (feminine or masculine) and number (singular or plural).

See the chart below for all the different endings:

	Masculine nouns and adjectives ending with O	Femininenouns and adjectives ending with A	Masculine or femininenouns and adjectives ending with E
Singular	gattObellO	gattAbellA	televisionEinteressantE
Plural	gattIbellI	gattEbellE	televisionIinteressantI

The plural form of nouns and adjectives ending with “O” is “i”
The plural form of nouns and adjectives ending with “A” is “e”
The plural form of nouns and adjectives ending with “E” is “i”

IRREGULAR NOUNS

The Italian language has many irregular nouns.

Irregular nouns	Masculine	Feminine
Some nouns have an irregular plural.	uomo/uomini (man/men)
Some nouns have an irregular feminine form. Certain people prefer to use only the masculine form of the nouns indicated by * instead of the irregular femminine form (e.g. “La Signora Rossi è il presidente della società” – Ms. Rossi is the president of the company)	attore (actor) scrittore (writer) pittore (painter) imperatore(emperor) direttore* (director) dottore (doctor) presidente*(president) poeta (poet) avvocato*(lawyer)	attrice scrittrice pittrice imperatrice direttrice dottoressa presidentessa poetessa avvocatessa
Some nouns have only the singular form, including all nouns ending with an accented vowel and all foreign nouns (e.g. “un re, due re” – one king, two kings)	re (king) ossigeno (oxigen) tassì (taxi) caffè (coffee) hotelsport yoga yogurt	gru (crane) città (city) università (university)
Some nouns are used only in the plural form.	occhiali (glasses)	forbici (scissors)
Some masculine nouns end with “a” and form the plural ending with “i”.	poeta/poeti (poet/s) problema/problemi(problem/s)
Some feminine nouns end with “o” and form the plural ending with “i”.		mano/mani (hand/hands)
Some nouns are masculine in the singular form, but become feminine in the plural, ending with “a”.	braccio (arm) labbro (lip) dito (finger) ginocchio (knee) uovo (egg)	braccia (arms) labbra (lips) dita (fingers) ginocchia (knees) uova (eggs)
Nouns ending with “co/ca” or “go/ga” add an “h” in the plural form.	lago/laghi (lake/s)	amica/amiche(friend/s)
Some masculine nouns ending with “co” or go” do not add the “h”	amico/amici (friend/s) medico/medici(doctor/s)
Feminine nouns ending with “cia” or “gia” become “ce” or “ge” when a consonant precedes the ending “cia” or “gia”.		arancia/arance (orange/s)

June 15, 2024June 15, 2024

ITALIAN ADJECTIVES

Italian adjectives have O and A endings (e.g. “carino, carina” – singular), change in the plural (e.g. “carini, carine”) and always agree with the noun to whom they refer:

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	un ragazzO carinOil ragazzO carinO	una ragazzA carinAla ragazzA carinA
Plural	i ragazzI carinI	le ragazzE carinE

There are also adjectives that have E endings (e.g. “importante“, singular -“importanti”, plural). Adjectives ending with “E” maintain the same form for feminine and masculine but they change in the plural:

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	un ragazzO importantEil ragazzO importantE	una ragazzA importantEla ragazzA importantE
Plural	i ragazzI importantI	le ragazzE importantI

When adjectives refer both to a feminine and masculine noun they take the plural masculine form:

una donna e un uomo italiani
le sorelle e i fratelli simpatici

Agreements help in creating the music of Italian language!

POSITION OF THE ADJECTIVES

Some adjectives always precede the noun. Those adjectives are:

questo/a
quello/a
numerali
(uno, due; primo/a secondo/a…)
aggettivi che indicano quantità
(poco/a, molto/a, troppo/a, altro/a…)

Some adjectives may precede or follow the noun. When they precede the noun their meaning may be more “emotional”; when they follow the noun their meaning is literal and objective. For example: “un vecchio amico” means “a long-time friend”, while “un amico vecchio” means a friend who is old. Some adjectives with this “double” meaning are:

bello/a
bravo/a
brutto/a
buono/a
giovane
grande
lungo/a
nuovo/a
vecchio/a
…

Some adjectives always follow the noun. These are adjectives indicating:

color (giallo, rosso, blu…)
form (freddo/a, caldo/a, basso/a, alto/a…)
nationality (italiano/a, americano/a, inglese…)
or adjectives modified by an adverb (una donna veramente simpatica, una macchina troppo costosa, un libro poco interessante)

questa penna blu Two adjectives joined by the conjunction “e” follow the noun:
una minestra buona e calda

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

Possessive adjectives indicate who is doing the possession; they have the same form as possessive pronouns.

Remember that the difference between adjectives and pronouns is that adjectives go with the noun: “la mia penna” (my pen) while pronouns substitute the noun: “è mia!” (it’s mine!)

Singular (Possessive adjective applied to singular nouns)	Masculine		Feminine
mio	my/mine	mia
tuo	your/yours	tua
suo	his/his/its	sua	her/hers/its
nostro	our/ours	nostra
vostro	your/yours	vostra
loro	their/theirs	loro
Plural (Possessive adjective applied to plural nouns)	miei	my/mine	mie
tuoi	your/yours	tue
suoi	his/his/its	sue	her/hers/its
nostri	our/ours	nostre
vostri	your/yours	vostre
loro	their/theirs	loro

IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES

The adjectives “questo, quello, bello, grande, buono, santo” change form as follow:

SINGULAR	Masculine	Feminine
questo, quel, bel, gran/grande, buon, San (used before masculine nouns starting with consonant: e.g. “libro, Carlo”)	questa, quella, bella, gran/grande, buona, Santa (used before feminine nouns starting with consonant: e.g. “donna, Teresa”)
quest’, quell’, bell’, grand’/grande, buon, Sant’ (used before masculine nouns starting with vowel: e.g. “uomo, Antonio”)	quest’, quell’, bella/bell’, grand’/grande, buon’/buona, Sant’ (used before feminine nouns starting with vowel: e.g. “automobile, Anna”)
questo, quello, bello, gran/grande, buon/buono, Santo (used before masculine nouns starting with s+ consonant: e.g. “studente, Stefano”)
PLURAL	questi, quei, bei, grandi, buoni, Santi (used before masculine nouns starting with consonant: e.g. “libri, Pietro e Paolo”)	queste, quelle, belle, grandi, buone, Sante (used before feminine nouns starting with consonant and vowel: e.g. “donne, automobili, Lucia e Teresa”)
questi, quegli, begli, grandi, buoni, Santi (used before masculine nouns starting with vowel and s + consonant: e.g. “uomini, studenti, Apostoli”)

The adjectives ending in “co/ca” and “go/ga” add “h” in the plural (masculine and feminine):

Singular	Plural
bianco, bianca (white)	bianchi, bianche
largo, larga (large)	larghi, larghe
poco, poca (few, little)	pochi, poche
…	…

Exception to this rule are the following adjectives (they add “h” only in the feminine plural):

Singular	Plural
simpatico, simpatica (nice, pleasant)	simpatici, simpatiche
antipatico, antipatica (not nice, not pleasant)	antipatici, antipatiche
greco, greca (Greek)	greci, greche
…	…

COMPARATIVE

To form a comparison Italian uses “più” (more) or “meno” (less) with “di” or “che” (than); “(così) come” (as) or “(tanto) quanto” (as):

When to use “più…di, meno…di”

When to use “più…che, meno…che”

in comparisons between nouns or pronouns:
1) Pino è più simpatico di Lucignolo (Pino is nicer than Lucignolo)
2) Lucignolo è meno simpatico di lui (Lucignolo is less nice than him) with numerals and pronouns:
1) Ci sono più di 10 studenti (there are more than 10 students)
2) Loro lavorano meno di voi (they work less then you)

in comparison between nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives (qualities), that relate to the same subject:
1) Pino è più simpatico che antipatico (Pino is more pleasant than he is unpleasant)
2) Pino ama meno studiare che giocare (Pino loves studying less than playing)
3) Pino ha più giocattoli che libri (Pino has more toys than books) in comparison between adverbs and verbs:
1) Preferisco camminare più lentamente che velocemente (I prefer to walk more slowly than quickly)
2) Questa carne è più bruciata che cotta (this meat is more burned than cooked)
3) Preferisco dormire più che mangiare (I prefer to sleep more than eat)in comparison with a conjugated verb adding “quel”:
1) Lui è più furbo di quel che pensi (He is smarter than what you think)
2) Il cantante è meno bravo di quel che sembrava (the singer is less good than what he/she seemed) “Che” is required when the second word to compare is introduced by a simple preposition (in, su, per …) or a combined preposition (negli, sulla, nel…):
1) È più bello andare al mare che in montagna (it is nicer to go to the seaside than to the mountain)

“Così” and “tanto” are commonly omitted:

When to use “(così) come“	When to use “(tanto) quanto“
very common in colloquial speach 1) Sono alto come te (I am as tall as you are) 2) Amo mangiare come giocare (I like eating as well as playing)	in a comparison of “quantity”1) Lui è tanto simpatico quanto bello (he is as pleasant as handsome) 2) Ho tanta fame quanto te (I am as hungry as you are) 3) Pinocchio spende tanti soldi quanti ne guadagna (Pinocchio spends as much money as he earns.) Notice that in this case “tanto” and “quanto” agree with the nouns they refer to.

Irregular forms. Remember that the irregular forms are used, instead of the regular ones, to emphasize professional or material qualities:

Adjective	Comparative
buono (good)	migliore; più buono
cattivo (bad)	peggiore; più cattivo
grande (big)	maggiore; più grande
piccolo (small)	minore; più piccolo

SUPERLATIVE

Italian has two forms of superlative:

Superlativo relativo

Superlativo assoluto

formed with the definite article and “più” or “meno”:
1) Lei è la meno simpatica di tutta la scuola (she is the less pleasant in the entire school)
2) Questo libro è il più noioso che ho letto (this is the most boring book I read)

Important: più or meno may follow the noun, in which case the article is not repeated:
3) Lei è la ragazza più intelligente della scuola (she is the most intelligent girl in the school)

formed by dropping the ending of the adjective and adding -issimo, -issima- issimi or -issime:1) I cantanti sono bravissimi (the singers are extremely good)2) Questo libro è noiosissimo (this book is extremely boring)3) Questa ragazza è intelligentissima (this girl is extremely intelligent)

Irregular forms. Remember that the irregular forms are used, instead of the regular ones, to enphasize professional or material qualities:

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
buono (good)	migliore	ottimo (buonissimo/a)
cattivo (bad)	peggiore	pessimo (cattivissimo/a)
grande (big)	maggiore	massimo (grandissimo/a)
piccolo (small)	minore	minimo (piccolissimo)

INDEFINITE ADJECTIVES

Indefinite adjectives give a very generic or indefinite information about the noun they refer to. Here is a chart of the most used:

		Special notes
used only in the singular form	ogni (each)	it is invariable for masculine and feminine: “ogni donna” (each woman); “ogni uomo” (each man)
nessuno/a (no, any, not any)	when placed before the verb it does not use “non”: “nessun bambino ha mangiato al pizza” (none of the children ate the pizza). After the verb it requires “non”: “non ha mangiato la pizza nessun bambino” (none of the childern ate the pizza)
qualche (some, a few)	it is invariable for masculine and feminine. It requires the object or subject to whom it refers to be in the singular form: “qualche donna” (some women); “qualche uomo” (some men)
qualunque (any, either, whichever)	it is invariable for masculine and feminine: “qualunque donna” (any woman); “qualunque uomo” (any man)
qualsiasi (any, either, whichever)	it is invariable for masculine and feminine: “qualsiasi donna” (any woman); “qualsiasi uomo” (any man)
used mostly in the plural form	alcuni/e (some, a few)	it is mostly used in the plural form and it requires the object or subject to whom it refers to be in the plural form: “ho alcuni libri” (I have a few books, some books.) It may be used in the singular form only in negative sentences: “non ho alcuna informazione” (I don’t have any information)
used in the singular and plural form	alcuno/a/i/e (some, a few, no, not any)	it is used in the singular form only in negative sentences: “non ho alcuna informazione” (I don’t have any information); it is mostly used in the plural form and it requires the object or subject to whom it refers to be in the plural form: “ho alcuni libri” (I have a few books, some books)
altrettanto/a/i/e (as much, as many)
altro/a/i/e (other, different)	it may have also other meanings like: “l’altra domenica” (the past Sunday) or, used with the definite adjective, “quest’altra domenica” (this coming Sunday)
certo/a/i/e (certain, a certain)	it is used in general in the singular form and with the article: “un certo; una certa”; when it refers to something or someone that is not known or specified: “ti ha telefonato un certo Mario”
ciascuno/a/i/e (each)
diverso/a/i/e (several, various)
molto/a/i/e (many)
parecchio/a/chi/chie (quite a lot of, several)
poco/a/chi/che (little, few)
tale/i (certain, a certain)	it is used in general with the article: “un tale; una tale”; when it refers to something or someone that is not known or specified: “ti ha telefonato un tale Mario”; “ti ha telefonato una tale Anna”
tanto/a/i/e (a lot of, much, many)
troppo/a/i/e (too much, too many)
tutto/a/i/e (all)
vario/a/ri/rie (various, several quite a few)